Mare Serenitatis
by happyalvin
Summary: Serena Mills lives a boring life with her mother Regina and brother Henry, until Emma Swan came to Storybrooke and everything starts to change. Serena starts to have weird dreams, ones in which someone keeps calling her Serenity, her mother is an Evil Queen and Snow White is her big sister. Serena thinks she losing her mind but according to Henry? Their memories of her former life…
1. Chapter 1

_Serenity couldn't remember when she first knew that she was different or rather that she was treated differently than others. It wasn't because she was a princess because Serenity knew that not all girls were princess like she and her older sister Snow White was. Not most girls or young ladies as their father told them lived the privileged lives that they lived, they didn't get to wear beautiful dresses and live in vast palaces because they were born into a world of glittering jewels and fine titles. Her title being Princess Serenity Rose, daughter of King Leopold and Queen Regina, half sister to Snow White through their father's first marriage. As a child Serenity didn't notice that things were different, but as she got older it got more apparent but she wasn't quite sure when she sudden realized that things were different. Eventually Serenity began to not that her father seemed to dote on her older sister more than her, even more than his own wife and Serenity's mother Regina. Nobody ever explained to Serenity why she had to have a guard follow her around the palace or why she was never allowed to leave the palace or even why Serenity had to have all her lessons by herself. But the biggest question that Serenity had that was still unanswered was why her mother never allowed her to be alone with her older sister. To Serenity it seemed like there was this big bad secret that was being kept from her, one that involved two of the most important people in her life and it seemed to her that her mother was adamant and went out of her way to ensure Serenity spend as little time with Snow White as possible. However that didn't work most of the time as Serenity and Snow had found ways around her mother's rules. They snuck around them as best they could especially at night when Serenity would sneak out of her bedroom and over to Snow's room, undetected most of the time as she knew pretty much every corner of the palace. Some of the best memories Serenity had were being with Snow and listening to her big sister tell her all these amazing stories._

_Life wasn't always constantly attending balls and dancing with handsome princes, for Serenity it was quite different and it was those memories with her sister that made up Serenity's childhood and livelihood because the older she got, she realized that the life of the royal family was not that happy even if everything seemed perfect on the outside. Her parents marriage seemed to be one more of convenience than anything because Serenity could see that they didn't love each other. Once she had heard that her father still mourned the loss of his first wife; Snow's mother that after his second marriage to Regina, he just devoted himself to raising Snow White. Serenity could remember once asking Snow about it and she remembered her sister dismissing the idea of being silly, claiming that their father adored her, so much so that he had named her after his favourite lake in all the kingdom. Serenity knew that her sister would never lie but it didn't change the fact that she could see that her mother was unhappy, which became increasingly clear the older she got. Serenity grew up having tension filled dinners with her family, with the company of her elder sister Snow to make things bearable. It hadn't been the easiest surroundings to grow up in but Serenity grew up happy enough, knowing that she was loved by her sister and her parents in their own way. But then things changed after her father Leopold died in rather mysterious circumstances. After his death Serenity's life forever changed, she had overheard her mother arranging to kill Snow White, which shocked Serenity to the core. She was quite aware that her mother had some underlying issue with her step-daughter but Serenity never imagined that her mother hated Snow White so much that she wanted her dead and that was only the start of it. Her mother hadn't succeeded with an original plan to have a huntsman cut out Snow White's heart and since then her mother had been obsessed with getting revenge on Snow White. It was a dire situation in which Serenity was stuck in the middle of two people she cared about it._

_"You don't seem to have much of an appetite today Serenity, is anything the matter?" Regina commented as herself and Serenity sat down over their weekly dinner. Before the two of them used to have dinner at least four times a week but over the last few months they had been decreasing in their numbers. But they still had this dinner and would continue to do so, it seemed to be the only mother-daughter activity thing that the two of them had left._

_"I'm just not feeling too hungry mother that's all…" Serenity idly replied as she pushed around the food on her plate for another moment before looking up into her mother's dark brown eyes, the very same ones that she shared. One of the few traits that the two of them had in common as mother and daughter were two very different people in terms of personality. But in appearance they shared the same brown eyes, dark hair and chin. Serenity had once heard her mother say that she reminded her on occasion of her mother but that was once and straight after Regina made it clear that Serenity was to forget that she had ever said that. The subject of her grandmother was one of many taboo subjects in the palace, it was something that was never allowed to be brought up along with Snow White._

_"Well you should try to at least eat something, the last thing I need is the populace to excuse me of starving my own daughter!" Regina stated in an irritated tone of voice and Serenity forced herself to smile before picking up a piece of food with her fork and placing it in her mouth. Serenity slowly chewed the food before forcing herself to swallow the food as the sooner she made her mother happy the sooner she could leave. Tonight they were having duck for supper and Serenity knew from experience that nothing good ever happened when they were having duck for dinner. For a few more minutes Serenity quietly forced herself to eat the food in front of her, partially playing around with the food to make it look like she had eaten more than she actually had. If looked like she had eaten enough than maybe her mother would leave her be for a while._

_"May I be excused mother? I'm feeling quite lightheaded and would like to go lie down…" Serenity feebly began, trying to sound as ill as possible despite the fact that she didn't feel lightheaded in the slightest. But her mother needn't know that. _

_"Go ahead Serenity, but I want you to head straight to your chambers and stay there…" Regina instructed and Serenity slowly nodded her head before slowly rising from her seat and making her way out of the dining room. On her way out of the dining room Serenity caught sight of her grandfather Henry and offered a tiny wink and a small smile before she stepped through the doors. Naturally there was a guard outside the door waiting for Serenity and wordlessly he began to follow her down the halls of the palace. The entire palace seemed to be coated with darkness, it was a car cry from the bright and mostly white summer palace it used to be when Serenity was a child. The palace that was home to Serenity was dark and scary with mirrors decorating most of the hallway walls, giving a person the impression that they were always being watched. Serenity knew her mother had spies everywhere and they went beyond her magic mirror. The journey back to Serenity's chambers were mostly quiet with only the sound of the heels of her shoes clicking against the floor. Eventually Serenity arrived back at her chambers and once she was safely inside she looked the door as she didn't have much time. She had somewhere to be and it was going to take quite a bit of time. Rushing over to her fireplace Serenity dropped down to her knees before sticking her arm up the fireplace and pulling out a medium sack. Serenity placed it on the ground before rising to her knees and walking over to her wardrobe and grabbing a dark coloured cloak out of it._

_Serenity was certain that her mother had brought the story about her feeling lightheaded and wanted to go lie down, so hopefully she wouldn't be disturbed. Not that it was likely to happen as Serenity was pretty much left to her own devices as her mother was quite a busy woman so hopefully there was no one who would notice that she was going to be gone for the next several hours. Serenity had somewhere to be and even though her mother had rules against her leaving the palace, it didn't mean that Serenity wasn't against breaking the rules, especially when it was something this important. Grabbing the sack, Serenity untied it and pulled out a rope from it and quickly went about tying it off against the bottom of her bed before chucking the rest of the rope out of the window. This wasn't the first time that Serenity had snuck out of the palace and it wouldn't be the last time she went out the window. In a matter of minutes Serenity had skilfully climbed out of her window and down her town and reached the outer yard of the palace. Right now there wasn't too many guard patrolling this area of the palace, so there was a good chance that she could get to the stables without anyone noticing her._

_"And where do you think your going your highness?"_

_Grimacing Serenity slowly turned around to come face first with one of the palace guards, trying to figure out what excuse she was going to give until she realized who had caught her. It was him, the huntsman… Well that was only what Serenity knew him as but she knew him none the less, he was the huntsman who her mother had sent to kill Snow White._

_"You shouldn't be out here, you know the rules Princess Serenity. The Queen forbids you from leaving the palace and you look like your about to leave the coop." The huntsman stated and Serenity frowned._

_"What my mother doesn't know won't kill her." Serenity quipped._

_"My lady, I must take you back to your chambers… It's not safe for you to be out here–"_

_"–Why? Whose going to kill me? My sister? Snow would never do anything to hurt me. That's who I'm going to see, if you really must know. I'm going to see Snow White." Serenity interrupted the Huntsman before he could warn her about the many dangers that were outside the palace walls. Serenity wasn't stupid, she knew that her mother had enemies but they weren't her enemies. "You remember her, right? My mother wanted you to kill her and bring her back Snow's heart but you didn't. Instead you brought back the heart of a stag. I need to see my sister, it's important that I do."_

_"I can't let you go–" The Huntsman began._

_"I'm going, whether or not you like. Snow White and I have arranged to meet and if I don't meet her like promised then she'll know something is wrong. My sister is one of the few people I have and she is out there, all alone in the world so I have to go see her!" Serenity adamantly stated as she was going whether or not the Huntsman liked it or not, he wasn't the Queen so he had no authority to tell her what to do or not. Serenity looked The Huntsman in the eye to let him know that she was going to go whether or not he thought it was a good eye, the only way that he would stop her was over her cold, dead and lifeless body._

_"I can't let you go alone go Princess, twilight will be approaching and the forest is an unsafe place for a young woman like yourself. Now stay here, I will go and get you a horse."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Don't thank me, last time I tried to help it didn't exactly end up well for your sister. Now stay here I'll be back in a few minutes…" The Huntsman instructed, pulling up the hood of Serenity's cloak before heading off in the direction of the stable. Serenity idly stood around waiting trying not to draw much attention to herself. She wasn't sure how long she waited it seemed like forever to Serenity before the Huntsman came back with one horse saddled and ready along with a lantern. The two of them had to quietly and carefully leave the outskirts of the palace being careful not to be seen by anyone. Once they were safely outside the confines of the palace, the Huntsman helped Serenity to mount her horse before they set off on their way. The entirety of the journey was in complete silence and Serenity wasn't sure to be glad of as she knew she was taking a huge risk by having the Huntsman coming with her. Normally when she snuck out of the palace to see her sister she was alone but this time she was bringing along the man who was going to kill her at some point. There was a chance that the Huntsman could go back and spill all of this to the Queen but he had saved Snow and because of that, Serenity was willing to take a small leap of faith. The journey in total took about 40 minutes in total until they reached a small clearing in the woods, far off the beaten path somewhere you wouldn't find unless you knew where to look for it. Serenity came to a stop and dismounted her horse and she motioned for the Huntsman to follow her. Serenity took a few steps before she let out a whistle, one that sounded very much like a nightingale. Serenity took a few more steps and repeated the process of whistling before waiting and eventually a figure stepped out from behind a large tree and there look as fair as Serenity could remember was her big sister Snow White, a constant beauty with alabaster white skin, raven hair and red lips like the rose._

_"Sere…" Snow began calling Serenity by the nickname she had came up for her younger sister when she was a small child, before glancing over to the Huntsman who was standing just behind Serenity._

_"It's okay, he's with me." Serenity replied and she waited for Snow to put down her lantern before running over into her sister's arm and once the two of them embraced, for Serenity it seemed like everything was okay. Serenity was so happy to see her sister, relieved to see that she was okay for the most part. It pained Serenity to see that her sister had been run out of the home she had grown up in by her mother, forced to live in the woods and be on the run. None of this was fair. "I've missed you so much Snow!"_

_"Look at you Sere! Gracious how much you have grown and getting more beautiful by the day! You are growing up so beautifully." Snow stated in a warm manner as the two sisters pulled away from each other and Serenity could feel her eyes start to water, even though there was a bit of an age difference between the two of them, her sister was her truest friend._

_"Impossible. There is no one in all the kingdom's more beautiful in the world than you my dearest older sister. How are you? I miss terribly with every passing day and I can't help by wish for those days in the past where we were together to come back. I wish things were like how they used to be, when things were at a happy times." Serenity wistfully said as even though she knew things in their family had never been completely perfect, at one point there had been happy times. Back when their father had still been alive and her mother wasn't so full of hate and revenge. But deep down Serenity knew that things would never be the same again, her father was dead and never coming back. _

_"I miss you too."_

_"I have something for you, I know it isn't much but it was all I could take right now without anyone noticing. It isn't much but it will help at least, help you to eat and stay clothed…" Serenity said as she reached into her cloak inside pocket and pulled out a small leather pouch and placed into her sister's hand. Serenity watched as Snow White opened up the pouch and gasped at the contents of the pouch. It was about two dozen silver coins and some loose jewels. For a princess it wasn't much but it was all Serenity could risk taking without her mother noticing._

_"I can't take this Serenity."_

_"Yes you can and I must, you've always taken care of me when we were growing and now it's my turn to do what I can for you. I can't help you from inside the palace, my mother refuses to have me mention you in the slightest. So if I can't help you by trying to convince my mother to have you come home then I can do this. It's the least I can do for you Snow as you are my sister, the best sister I have ever had." Serenity stated with a smile as she squeezed her sister's gloved hand in an attempt to convince her sister that it was okay for her to take the pouch._

_"I really wish that you would come you Sere, instead of staying with her…" Snow began and Serenity quietly sighed._

_"You know why Snow, she's my mother…" Serenity began._

_"Sere, she killed papa and tried to have me killed!"_

_"I know that and I'm not condoning what my mother has done, she's done a lot of bad things and hurt the people I care about. But if I leave her, she will hunt burn the kingdom to the ground looking for us both and she will be more determined to kill you and I couldn't live with myself if she hurt you more than she has. I know this sounds crazy but it's safer for me to stay in the palace, I can listen in and find out what she's planning and try to warn you and keep you safe. I don't think she'll hurt me Snow, despite everything that mama had done to everyone else, she's never harmed me. She's my mother and I think she loves me, I know she has never really shown it but I think that the fact she has never harmed me speaks volumes. There's goodness in her heart Snow, it's in there somewhere I just know it. Maybe I can save her…" Serenity explained as she knew her mother was a tricky person, she knew that people called her the Evil Queen, that she used magic to inflict harm on others. Regina hadn't been the most affectionate mother in the world but she hadn't been the worst mother in the world, at least to her. Serenity needed to believe that her mother had goodness inside of her. Her Grandfather Henry was the kindest man she had ever come across and he had raised her mother, so Serenity was adamant that her mother had been good once and still had goodness somewhere inside._

_"Serenity…" Snow quietly said._

_"She's my mother Snow, I have to believe that there is a good in her somewhere." Serenity responded and she watched as her older sister smiled weakly before pressing a kiss to her forehead. That didn't have much time left anymore, it was too risky for Serenity to be outside the palace for too long. Hell would be raised if it was discovered that she was missing from the palace. "Goodbye Snow, you are in my heart always…"_

_"And you will always be in mine Serenity." Snow began as she and Serenity hugged each other goodbye, both with tears in their eyes. Serenity wearily smiled at her sister before walking back over to the Huntsman who was standing by her horse. Wordlessly Serenity mounted her horse and gave a small wave to her sister, she always hated saying goodbye to Snow as she was never too sure when she was going to see her again. Snow gave Serenity a bright and teary smile before turning to the Huntsman._

_"Keep her safe, she means the world to me." _

_"I will."_

_With one more glance at her sister, Serenity said her goodbyes before turning around and going back on her way. Her heart would ache for Snow and Serenity would always be worried about her sister as Snow didn't do anything to deserve this. Serenity knew that she would probably cry herself to sleep tonight like she did most nights after seeing her sister. Everything was so complicated. The journey back to the palace was very much filled in silence as the Huntsman walked beside Serenity as she rode her horse, leading them to where she was going to meet Snow White. At first the silence was fine for Serenity it gave her a chance to think and clear her mind but after a while the silence was getting to her. _

_"I know that you think what I'm doing is dangerous, as do I… Communication between myself and Snow is forbidden. It is the will of my mother and I know what will happen if the Queen finds out what I'm doing but I can't turn my back on Snow. She's my sister, my best friend… She's the one who taught me not to be afraid of the dark, Snow was always there when I was scared. We did a lot of things together, she used to let me sneak into her room at night when I felt lonely and she would tell me stories or show me the stars and tell me that they were. The night our father died I was so distraught and my sister put aside her grief to comfort me. The entire night she sat with me, whispering to me 'It's okay to dream' something my father would always used to tell me. I can't walk away from her or my mother, I love them both too much…"_

* * *

><p><em>Buzz… Buzz… Buzz. <em>At the sound of her alarm clock Serena Mills couldn't help but groan as she did not want to wake up, she would much prefer to sleep as she hated the morning. It was far too bright and sunny for her liking, by definition and all forms of her behaviour a night owl. As her alarm clock continued to go off Serena stretched out her arm from inside the warm comforts of her comforter towards her nightstand and started banging around in hopes of shutting off her damn alarm clock. When that didn't work Serena just pulled her pillow from underneath her and put it over her face in hopes of drowning out the incessant buzz of her alarm clock. She was exhausted and was not planning on crawling out of her pit otherwise known as her bedroom anytime soon, Serena was intending on sleeping for another five hours as she knew that her alarm was set to go off at 7:15am and she had only crawled into bed some point in the 5am area, Serena was not getting out of bed until she had at least seven hours of sleep under her belt. Eventually the noise of her annoyingly loud alarm clock from hell finally subsided and Serena sighed in content as she pulled her pillow off from the top of her head and returned it to it's correct position before turning over in bed. Now that horrendous noise had finally shut up, she could get a decent amount of shut eye in peace. However that idea didn't last long as soon enough Serena could hear the sound of footsteps in her room and the sound of something being thrown open. Straight away Serena felt the bright glare of the sun on her closed eyes and she couldn't help but let out a strangled cry. Even with her eyes shut the sun very much burned them. Her brother Henry often wondered whether Serena was a vampire or not due to her preference of night rather to day. It wouldn't surprise Serena if she actually was because she wasn't exactly normal in the most conventional sense.

"Shut the curtains! It's too early for this madness!" Serena wailed as all this sunlight was too much for her, this early in the morning. All she wanted to do was sleep but apparently somebody else had other plans for her and Serena didn't like in the slightest. Was it too much to for her to be left alone to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep? Serena knew she was over thinking all of this so she just grunted in annoyance before pulling the covers over her head, shutting out all of the annoying sunlight that was irritating her.

"Mom wants you to get up Serena!"

Serena had assumed that her mother was the one behind the curtain pulling stunt but that was apparently not the case as it turns out it was her little brother. With a small sigh Serena wearily opened her eyes and peeked out from under her cover to see that it was indeed her ten year old little brother Henry, still dressed in his pyjamas with his hazel eyes staring intently at her. Serena dramatically sighed before sitting up in bed, making exaggerations about having to be forced to get out of bed. However Serena was thankfully that it was Henry coming to get her out of bed then their mother Regina. It was their mother she would be have all but tossed Serena out of the bed and lectured her about being rather lazy. Unable to help herself Serena let out a very loud sigh. "Of course she does… Sorry about that bud, I'm awfully tired…"

"I wouldn't be surprised given that you snuck out last night…" Henry quipped and Serena couldn't help but smile in amusement at her little brother as he was quick as a whip. There wasn't much that Serena could get past Henry, well to be honest she didn't keep much from her brother. So Henry knew that Serena frequently snuck out of the house but she never told him beforehand but he always seem to tell. Serena was certain that it wasn't because he had heard her sneaking back into the house as she was always careful coming back in to the house so not to wake up Henry or alert their mother to her late night activities.

"You got me there bud, your fantastic big sister has been up to no good again and I suspect that Sheriff Graham may have spotted me at one point last night. But if he did, no doubt he would have hauled my ass back home and I would be listening to the mother of all lectures for the millionth time." Serena quipped in amusement.

"So what exactly are you doing when you sneak out at night?" Henry asked and despite how tired she was Serena couldn't help but feel her mouth tug into a small smirk before she leaned forward and pulled Henry onto her bed and started tickling him before ruffling his hair in an affectionate manner. Despite all the silly and stupid stuff that she did, Serena never felt like she was being judged by her little brother. It was like Henry loved Serena for exactly who she was and for Serena that meant a lot. Unlike their mother who frequently reminded Serena to sit up straight and watch her posture along with her behaviour as not to bring shame on to the family. God forbid Serena Mills bring shame onto the family.

"Never you mind squirt!" Serena stated in a warm manner deciding that it was better for Henry not to know that she had spent most of the night aimlessly skating around town, going for a late night swim at the docks before climbing up to the top of the old abandoned library to watch the stars before deciding to head home. For Serena it was a pretty tame night which involved no underage drinking or any of the normal stuff that she got up to. In a town like Storybrooke where there was never much to do, Serena got restless hence the late night trips around town. It was just something to give her life a little bit of excitement because her life was pretty mundane. She lived a pretty simple life with her mother Mayor Regina Mills and her little brother Henry. Storybrooke was a quiet town in Maine and could easily be described as one of those sleepy little towns where nothing much could happen.

"So I take it mom didn't notice my little late night excursion?" Serena questioned which resorted in Henry letting out a disgruntled scoff.

"That would have to mean that mom actually cared about either of us to notice." Henry replied and Serena could see where this was going as there had been a lot of problems at home. Serena tended to but heads with their mother a lot, it mostly the typical teenager fights with parents which resulted in Serena acting out like a rebellious teenager hence the piercings, the sarcasm and rather flippant attitude towards her mother on most matters. But then there was Henry. He had been adopted by their mother when he was a baby and recently he was going through a lot of things, he felt upset that his birth mother had given him up and was convinced that Regina didn't love him. Serena could somewhat understand as she was certain at times that her mother didn't love her, that Regina only kept her around appearance value only, to make the whole town think the mayor had the perfect family life.

"I know it doesn't seem like it but mom loves us both in her own weird way and I know her working constantly doesn't exactly show it. I know it's hard being the Mayor's kid and mom isn't exactly the easiest person in the world, trust me I understand it. But she's still our mom–" Serena began as she wasn't the biggest fan of their mother, they didn't get on most of the time and Serena couldn't remember the exact reason why she didn't get on with her mom. All she knew was that she held this deep animosity towards her mother for some reason and it just carried on like that. But regardless of that Regina was still her mother and Serena loved her despite everything. Serena was certain that she hadn't been the easiest child to raise.

"–She's your mom Serena." Henry interrupted referring to the fact that Serena was Regina's biological daughter.

"Does that mean that you're not my brother? If you're saying that Regina is just my mom and not yours then what does that makes us? Do I not have a little brother who I adore to pieces? Who I like to run round the house when Regina is out making as much noise as possible and getting hyper by eating lots of junk food? Are you just a stranger who lives in the same house as me Henry?" Serena asked Henry and she could see that her brother could see that he had upset her ever so slightly by his comment. "Henry I can't claim to understand what you're going through with this whole being adopted thing as your right Regina is my mom, she's my biological mother whereas she's your adoptive mother. But what I do know is that you are my brother, no matter what you think about mom and this whole being adoptive think, know that I love you. Out of everyone I love you the most."

"I'm sorry Serena." Henry apologetically began and Serena smiled before ruffling her brother's hair.

"Ah! It's okay Henry. You never have to apologise to me for feeling the way you do, I'm just glad that you trust me enough to talk to me about the way you feel. I know things aren't easy at the moment but things will get better eventually." Serena assured Henry in a warm manner, she knew Henry was having a difficult time as of late which is why she felt extra more protective of her little brother. The two of them were pretty different people but they seemed to be loners by nature and the only people they had were really each other. Henry didn't really have friends and so going to school was hard because he was essentially alone. It was a lot harder for a kid to be lonely without friends than for someone a lot older like Serena. She was very much used to being alone, to the point where she actually enjoyed it. The seventeen year old had been by herself for a long time, sure she pretty much knew most people in town but she didn't have any real friends. Serena wasn't allowed to venture out into town much except for the odd occasion where her mom gave her a reprisal to do something with Henry or she was stuck at her mom's office for hours on end. It wasn't the most exciting life.

"I didn't take you for an optimist." Henry couldn't help but point out and Serena couldn't help but smile, she was certain she would have lost her sanity a long time ago if it wasn't for her adorable little brother. Henry seemed to be the one person here who really understand Serena despite his young age, she could always be herself with her brother and it was why she loved him so much and would always be there to look out for Henry.

"Typically I'm not, but you give me hope Henry and someone, I can't remember who exactly said that it's okay to dream. So I'm going to dream that everything is going to get better for you and for me. But for now? We should probably start getting ready before mom comes up here, suspecting that we're planning to other throw her and claim the house as our palace!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Born in a palace by the sea, Serenity was born into a world of fine titles and glistening jewels, never wanting for anything in her life. Serenity knew that she lived a privileged life and she shouldn't take it for granted but it was a little bit lonely. A palace could be considered a prison given the right circumstances and that's how Serenity felt most of the time in her surroundings as the summer palace that she once knew was now an impenetrable fortress in which Serenity had no escape from. The ballroom was one of Serenity's favourite places in the entire palace, as a child she used to run up and down the ballroom making as much noise as she wanted, having huge tea parties in the ballroom, dressed in one of her finest dressed and her hair done all and having some of the palace guards come to have tea with her. Serenity could remember when her dad taught her how to dance, he said that it was very important to know how to waltz, that quality time that she spent with her father was some of Serenity's most precious memories. Then there were the parties, the extravagant balls that they used to throw and royalty from other kingdoms across the lands would come. But now the ballroom had no real purpose, the parties had stopped a long time ago and now the ballroom, such a beautiful room was going to waste. It was a real shame as a room like this deserved much attention. With a small sigh Serenity paddled across the dimly lit ballroom, her bare feet making impact on the cold marble floor, but it didn't bother her much as the entire palace was always cold and it wasn't in the general sense. There was this constant cold and frosty atmosphere, a far cry from the warm and open palace that Serenity knew when she was a child. Making her way over to one of the many floor to ceiling windows, Serenity wearily gazed out to the palace gardens and she couldn't help but sigh. She had longed imagined herself being in this room, during a fancy ball and meeting a young man, dancing the night away with him and fall in love. But Serenity knew that was never going to happen and despite that she kept dreaming of falling in love. Recently the days seemed so much longer and the nights seemed to drag on a lot longer and it was starting to get to Serenity as she was longing to explore the world outside the palace and Serenity's overactive imagination wasn't helping with that process._

_Serenity was long dreaming of the day that she could be free to live her own life but it was complicated. She knew that she could walk out of this palace and attempt to be her own person but her mother would never allow that to happen. If Serenity ran away than her mother would have the entire kingdom looking for her and that would just be trouble, not to mention there was still the situation with Snow. Serenity's mother was still out to get Snow and Serenity needed to protect her sister as best she could, even if it meant staying here in a place where she was essentially a prisoner in her own home. But Serenity couldn't give up, this was her family and she needed to figure out a way to fix this. Too many people had been hurt already. Serenity needed to save her mother, rescue her sister from the hell she was going through being on the run and most importantly Serenity needed to save herself as the loneliness was slowly began to eat away at her. As privileged as her life was, the way her life was, wasn't exactly healthy. The loneliness never went away and it was slowly killing Serenity._

_"Well if it isn't Princess Serenity, all dressed up with nowhere to go!"_

_At the sound of a high pitched man's voice, Serenity turned around to see that she wasn't alone in the ballroom like she had thought but she hadn't heard anyone come on in and her guard was stationed outside the ballroom doors. Slowly turning around Serenity came face to face with a man, and she was instantly taken back by his appearance. He had medium length brown hair, dressed in what liked like well work but fine leather. The man had these dark eyes that seemed odd, dark as night somewhat empty yet they seemed to light up at the same time. His skin was like shade of green and somewhat liked rather scaly like a snake. Long nails that were green and not kept. But what really disturbed Serenity was the grin on the man's face, it wasn't natural. It took Serenity a moment to realize that she knew this man, well she didn't know him personally but she knew of him through stories that her nurse used to tell her at night. Tales of creature who used to be a man once upon a time, a creature of great power who could spin straw into gold and grant wishes and desires at price. His name was Rumplestiltskin. But he was also known as the Dark One. "Your Rumplestiltskin, aren't you?"_

_"I am indeed dearie!" Rumplestiltskin replied in a cheery tone of voice before dramatically bowing in front of Serenity who wasn't sure what to make of all of this. "My how you have grown princess, not so little anymore… You've grown in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know you… Just like your sister Snow White. But I see that you have inherited your mother's beauty, with eyes as black as black as coal and lips as red as the rose! Let's just hope that your mother doesn't get as jealous of you as she did your sister otherwise things might get more awkward then they are already. They don't call her the Evil Queen for nothing…"_

_"Do you know my mother?" Serenity wearily questioned as she took a few steps forward as she could sense this odd sense of familiarity in the way that Rumplestiltskin was talking about her mother, as if he knew her. There was this tone in his voice which seemed to suggest that he knew something that Serenity didn't know._

_"Oh I know your mother Little One, you could say I know your mother very well. In fact I know your family very well indeed, I even knew your grandmother–"_

_"You knew my grandmother?" Serenity asked, piping up with interest as she didn't know much about her maternal grandmother, apart from the odd comment that her mother had made about Serenity looking like her, she knew practically nothing about her. Just that her name was Cora, that she was somewhere far away and that she was never to be mentioned in the palace ever. Cora was a taboo subject, not ever Serenity's grandfather Henry would talk about her because of the risk of upsetting the Queen. Not even Snow would talk about Cora, that's how bad the situation was and it often made Serenity wonder about Cora, wonder if her grandmother was that much of a bad person that all her loved ones_

_"Trust me dearie you don't want to worry your pretty little head about Cora!" Rumplestiltskin stated in a dismissive manner which Serenity chose to ignore as she doubted the man would give her anything more if she pushed for answers about her elusive grandmother._

_"So what brings you here then?" Serenity began._

_"–What brings me here? And I thought you were supposed to be a princess! Don't they teach you any manners dearie? Or does the Queen just not even bother anymore…" Rumplestiltskin interrupted and Serenity grimaced, she knew she shouldn't have said that, at least in that way but she was sort of curious as to why Rumplestiltskin was here. Serenity highly doubted that he was just here for a casual talk with her of all people, he was the Dark One and she was just some princess hidden away in a palace with a complicated family. There surely had to be better things for him to be doing._

_"Forgive me, I seem to have misplaced my manners and acted in a manner unbefitting of a princess and I did not mean to offend. It's just that I was curious as to what brought you to our kingdom, you must be here to see my mother, the Queen. If you'll allow me to, I'll take you to her right away." Serenity stated in a friendly manner as she offered Rumplestiltskin a small smile before slowly beginning to set off in the direction of the ballroom doors. Serenity had no idea what kind of business Rumplestiltskin had with her mother and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know either. Serenity knew both of them were capable of dangerous things with and without the use of magic._

_"Oh I'm not here to see your mother Little One, I'm here to see you in fact." Rumplestiltskin announced and Serenity couldn't help but stop in her step as she wasn't quite expecting to hear that. Rumplestiltskin was here to see her? Serenity wasn't sure of the reason why he of all people would want to see her. She knew he was infamous for his magic and his tendency to make deals but Serenity had nothing of worth to offer him in exchange for a deal. Perhaps Rumplestiltskin was here to offer a deal, but Serenity wasn't sure. It took a few moments for the weight of Rumplestiltskin's words to really sink it and eventually Serenity turned back around to face him._

_"Me? Why do you want to see me? I don't think I can do anything for you… I don't have the power that the Queen does."_

_"I wouldn't say that Little One, you are after all the Crown Princess."_

_"My sister is the rightful heir." Serenity correctly informed Rumplestiltskin as upon their father's death Snow was supposed to ascend the throne but things changed when the Queen tried to have her killed. After Snow White went on the run, Serenity became the Crown Princess, a title that Serenity would very much not like to be associated with. "But I don't see how my title has anything to do with this and I still don't understand what you want with me Rumplestiltskin…"_

_"I want nothing from you dearie, at least noting yet… But for now fact I want to give you something Princess, I want to give you valuable information." Rumplestiltskin said with a smile as he began to circle around Serenity who watched with uncertainty as Rumplestiltskin continued to walk around her with this glint in his eyes which made Serenity feel rather uneasy. "A wondrous future lies before you Princess Serenity, you one of many destined heroes in a tale that will unite countless people."_

_"I don't understand…" Serenity quietly said._

_"You'll fall in love with a boy who you'll come to know by two different names. He will be your first and only love. Star-Crossed lovers is what you'll be… Your love with be boundless, you will transcend time and space, even fight to be with each other. You will discover the true meaning of love or something like that, you will rise higher than you have ever been and then fall so much further and in that, your darkness hour it will give you all the strength you need to do what is needed of you." Rumplestiltskin cryptically stated and Serenity was at a loss because he seemed to be talking madness, time and space, which didn't make much sense. This couldn't be right._

_"Needed? What will I need to do?"_

_"Can't tell you that dearie." Rumplestiltskin quipped._

_"Can't or won't?" Serenity retorted._

_"Won't. There's no fun in any of this if I tell you anything." Rumplestiltskin cackled and she had even more questions than answers, she couldn't be sure whether Rumplestiltskin was messing around with her but despite his excited child like manner he seemed to be taking this quite serious. Serenity had heard the stories about how he could see the future and there was a good chance that he was giving her an insight into her own future, which seemed kind of bleak._

_"Why are you telling me this?"_

_"Your going to be very useful in the future Little One and for you to be useful to me, I need you to play your part accordingly. If I get what I want, you'll also get what you want most in all this world; your sister back as well as your mother, if your lucky..." Rumplestiltskin stated and Serenity couldn't help but take a few steps back as could it really be that easy? If she fell in love with this person Rumplestiltskin told her about, whoever it was and everything went from there, everything that Rumplestiltskin said she would go through. If all that happened there was a chance she could get her family back and Snow wouldn't have to keep running. Maybe they could be happy again or try and have a fresh start. "Cheer up dearie! You keep that look know your face you might not ever get your happy ever after."_

_"What do you get out of this? You say I can get my family back but what do you get from this? How do I fit into all of this? You say I have some role to play but how do you play into all of this Rumplestiltskin?" Serenity questioned as this was all a bit suspicious._

_"That's for me to know and you not to find out!" Rumplestiltskin stated and before Serenity could say or do anything he was gone. Vanished into thin air just like he had arrived and Serenity had no idea what had just happened. Rumplestiltskin, talk of the future, falling in love and a chance to play happy families again. It all sounded too good to be true and yet it was all Serenity ever wanted. But there had to be a price._

_There was always a price with Rumplestiltskin_

* * *

><p>Being 17 and being stuck in a somewhat small and sleepy town in Maine wouldn't have been Serena's first pick if she had got a choice about where she could grow up but sometimes Storybrooke had it's advantages, such as knowing the entire layout of the town and knowing all the good places to hide out in without getting disturbed by anyone. Serena had spent the morning doing her school stuff and in the afternoon she went to her mother's office to do work, which was technically her reluctantly working as an intern for her mother, although Serena managed to wind her mother up enough that Regina let her go after two hours because she wasn't in the mood to deal with Serena's ever constant and changing mood swings. Serena had spent the better part of the afternoon sitting on the roof of the abandoned library reading magazines and eating enough sugar that it probably gave her cavities. It was a way Serena blew off steam because of the ongoing tension between her and her mother which didn't seem to be ending anytime soon, not that Serena gave it much thought. She spent a good portion of her life doing things that her mother wouldn't approve, something straight out of magazine doing a feature on the phases that teenagers go through which involves rebelling. Serena knew she was not going thorough some teenaged angst as she was pretty well behaved, if you didn't count the multiple piercing in her ears and the whole sneaking out thing. Serena would just call it being restless as she got bored and her mother tended to smother her with all these stiff rules that Serena didn't like.<p>

Glancing down at her watch that was facing inwards on her left wrist, Serena saw that it was almost time for Henry to come out from his session with Dr. Hopper, the town's local shrink. Last few weeks Henry had been feeling down the last couple of weeks despite Serena's best efforts to cheer him up, the kid had been really confused and upset. There was nothing that Serena was able to do, as the weeks went on Henry just retreated into some book of his and because of that their mother had sent Henry off to Dr. Hopper's office for weekly sessions which Serena thought was crazy in itself all because Henry's imagination was bit overactive, he was obsessed with this book of fairy tales at the moment or something like that. Despite the fact that Serena thought her brother had no need to be in therapy, nonetheless here she was waiting for her brother to come out so she could walk home with him, Serena knew she wasn't the best big sister in the world. She was a bit of a wild card who tended to do whatever she wanted and she didn't set the best example in the world but she did love Henry and she would do whatever she could for him. Eventually Henry finally came out of the offices and Serena offered him a smile although her brother couldn't quite muster one up in response.

"How'd it go squirt?" Serena questioned.

"What does it matter?" Henry replied awkwardly looking away and so Serena took a step forward before bending down onto one knee so she was near enough to Henry's height for him to really be able to look at her.

"Listen to me carefully Henry… There's nothing wrong with seeing Dr. Hopper, mom has sent me to Archie god knows how many times because she thinks I'm acting up because of some psychobabble nonsense. Just because your seeing Archie doesn't mean your crazy Henry, it just means that mom wants to chuck money at a problem and have Archie try to deal with it then her doing it herself. Mom thinks I'm just constantly going through these stupid awkward phases. Unfortunately what I have can't be fixed, not by Archie or by mom constantly chucking money at my issues. But Archie is a good person to talk to, I mean all I ever did at his session when I turned up to them was play checkers and make the occasional grunt. It wasn't so bad most of the time." Serena explained in a gentle man as she could see Henry wasn't really comfortable with the whole Archie thing despite being friendly with the local shrink and his dog Pongo. Serena completely understood as it was beyond weird for a pretty normal kid, despite how lonely Henry was to be in therapy.

"I'm not crazy Serena."

"You don't think I know that? Of course you are not crazy Henry and even if you were it wouldn't matter to me. If you're crazy then I am most certainly crazy but that's okay because we can be crazy together." Serena assured Henry, which brought out the first genuine smile that Serena had seen from her brother in

so far the day had been mediocre at best for Serena but the upside was that it was a somewhat chilly and beautiful. "There's that smile I've been looking for her, I know things have been difficult for you lately Henry but I just want you to know that I will always love you the most."

"Unlike my real mom…" Henry wearily grumbled and Serena resisted the urge to sigh as the adoption thing came up again, like it always did. Serena didn't really understand it at all but she was trying to be as understanding as she could as she figured it must be hard for her brother know that biologically they were just strangers. Henry had no clue about his biological parents, who they were, what they looked like or what they did. There was nothing there for him to know, no information in the slightest just a sense of abandonment.

"Henry, holding you close and giving you kisses aren't the only symbols of love. Quietly watching from afar is a kind of love too. I don't know why your biological mother gave you up, I like to think she had a good reason to do so, maybe because she wanted to give you a better life than the one she could provide for you. I'm just guessing here but I do know that there was no way she couldn't love you and I believe that she loved you very much and still does even if she's not here with you right now. She must think about you an awful lot and she must have been very brave to do what she did and call me selfish but I'm glad that you were adopted, that you came into our house, into our family and into our hearts. I love our little family a lot." Serena stated in an affectionate manner as she wanted to know that Henry was very much loved, even if he didn't feel like it.

"Then how comes you argue with mom all the time?" Henry asked and Serena couldn't help but sigh as she was pretty vocal towards their mother most of the time, she probably wasn't setting the best example for her brother. Hence her know trying to figure out someway to describe her relationship with their mother in a somewhat positive light. Serena rose to her feet and took a deep breath before turning to her younger brother.

"I'm not going to lie to you Henry, mom and I have a very complicated relationship as you've seen for yourself. I don't know why it's like this, I know some of it's because she a bit too overbearing but I look at mom sometimes and I feel this deep resentment towards her from within me..." Serena began before trailing off as she thought about her feelings towards her mother, for as long as Serena could remember, she had always felt this way. There were lots of negative aimed towards her mother and Serena couldn't remember why she was angry with her mother most of the time. But deep down in her core, past the resentment, anger and confusion, Serena loved her mother very much and she knew it even if she didn't show it most of time. "I don't know why but I resent mom all the time even though I love her. I can't really explain in a way that it'll make any real sense with words but some reason I have a problem with mom but that doesn't take away the fact that she is my mom. Family is complicated but you and mom are all the family I have and that will never change. If I didn't have you guys I would be pretty lonely."

"Can we go home now Serena?" Henry questioned and Serena nodded her head and the two of them slowly began their journey home and for the most part of the journey, there was idly chit chat but soon enough Serena's eye caught the attention of the rather large leather bound book Henry was carrying. If he wasn't holding the book then he had his head in it, Henry had been rather attached to it and Serena was getting rather curious about the mysterious book.

"So bud, you ever going to tell me about this book of yours? I have to admit that I was all for giving you your privacy and enjoying your little book but now my I'm rather curious if you don't mind me asking… You don't half to tell me if you don't want to." Serena began in a not to subtle way and judging by the small snicker that came from Henry, he found it pretty funny. "I remember you saying that the book contains fairytales… Is that right?"

"Sort of… Did you know Snow White had a younger sister? A half-sister called Serenity from her dad and her stepmother." Henry began and Serena couldn't help but frown briefly, she wasn't too familiar with fairy tales but from what she could vaguely remember, she couldn't recall Snow White having a sister. Just a wicked stepmother who tried to kill her with an apple and then there was a prince and some dwarves somewhere in the story

"No I didn't know that."

"Well most people don't know that because the true story it's not in most fairy tale books but this one is different Serena, everything in here is true. All the fairy tales that people think they know are completely different and now everyone from the book is here in this word! A curse was cast and everyone was sent here to Storybrooke but they have no memories of who they really are and they are frozen in time!" Henry explained in a rather excited manner and Serena had to admit that sounded like it was one really interesting book and she liked the concept of it. She wasn't a hundred percent sure whether what Henry was saying about everyone in town being characters in the book, Serena just imagined that Henry was projecting the characters into people in town for his own amusement. A lonely kid trying to entertain himself, it sort of sweet.

"Is that so? Do you want to give me some examples then?" Serena questioned as she didn't see any harm in entertaining Henry, to let him have a bit fun and let his imagination run loose. No doubt this was the reason their mom had stuck him in therapy which was getting even more ridiculous the more Serena thought about it. Their mom really needed her head examined if she thought a little boy's imagination was a sign of a troubled mind.

"Ruby is Red Riding Hood…"

"Okay I can see that!" Serena replied with a laugh as she thought of Ruby who worked at Granny's diner who coincidently loved wearing red, she even had read streaks in her head. Serena could see how easy it was to make that kind of connection, although Ruby tended to be arguing with her grandmother than taking her a basket full of treats through the woods before meeting a nasty wolf. "Okay, so who else?"

"Archie is Jiminy Cricket, Ms Blanchard is Snow White but they don't remember any of this." Henry proudly stated, referring to his school teacher who was pretty much the sweetest woman in town, literally as sweet as apple pie and Serena nodded along as the two of them continued to walk together as they made their way home.

"So if everyone in town's in this, then who are you?" Serena asked.

"I'm not in the book as I was born in this world, the book only contains what happened in the fairy tale world, a world that has magic." Henry explained before pausing momentarily. "But you and mom are in the book thought."

"Spill. Tell me who we are and I had better be something good Henry Mills." Serena chucked as she prodded her little brother in an affectionate manner in order for him to give up the details. Serena couldn't help but think that it would be pretty cool to be a fairy talk character, their lives weren't that complicated and in most cases they got a happy ending unless they were a villain.

"Mom is the Evil Queen, she's the one who cast the curse that brought everyone here but you know her better as Snow White's stepmother and Serena, your Serenity…" Henry slowly announced and Serena couldn't help but frown briefly as she was pretty sure that Henry had told her that in the book Serenity was the stepmother's daughter, or rather the Evil Queen's daughter and she was also the half-sister of Snow White. So if Serena was putting this together correctly, her mother was still Regina but Mary Margaret Blanchard was also her sister. That sounded insane, completely and totally made up but Serena couldn't tell Henry this as he looked happier than she had seen him in weeks and he seemed to really believe in it. The way Serena thought about it, there was no way it could do much harm to Henry if he believed that the characters from his book were the townspeople of Storybrooke.

"Wow bud… You really have this figured out." Serena replied after a moment's pause.

"Can you not tell mom about this? She thinks I'm crazy already and if she hears any of this, she'll just send me back to Archie's office." Henry stated with crestfallen expression on his face and hating to see her little brother so sad, Serena put an arm round her brother and pulled him in close.

"You keep my secrets from mom so of course I'll keep yours." Serena replied as she had no problem in keeping things from their mother as she lied to Regina on a frequent manner and so she had no qualms in protecting Henry from their mother's weird obsession of using therapy as a way of child rearing. The two of them walked for a further fifteen minutes before they arrived back home, judging by the car parked out front, their mother was home. Serena sent Henry upstairs and told him to get a start on his homework and she would join him soon, first she wanted to have a word with their mother. Whilst Henry went upstairs, Serena went about looking for their mother and eventually found her in the study, looking over some papers as per usual. It seemed like Regina never stopped working. "We're home, I just thought you should know…"

"Good, how's your brother?" Regina asked looking up from her papers and Serena pursed her lips momentarily as she glanced at her mother. Serena used to be convinced that she and her mother were nothing alike, but the older she got, the more she could see some psychical similarities she shared with her mother.

"Henry's fine, quiet like he normally is after a session with Archie although I don't see why he's in therapy as he is a perfectly normal kid for the most part…" Serena slowly drawled, stopping herself from adding no thanks to you at the end of her sentence. The last thing Serena needed was to get into another argument with her mother about how she managed to screw them up

"Your brother isn't acting like himself Serena, recently his behaviour isn't normal and he's being dismissive and rude. Then he is absorbed in that book of his, it isn't normal, I'm worried for Henry. "

"So you send him to therapy because he's talking back? For god sake Regina get a hold of yourself, there's nothing wrong with Henry! He's 10 years old, he should be outside trying to make friends. Maybe Henry wouldn't have his head stuck in a book most of the team if you let him have a chance to have some freedom and try and make friends." Serena tossed out, falling into one of her bad habits of calling her mother by her first name without even a second thought. Regina had long ago given up on trying to correct Serena when she did this.

"Maybe Henry wouldn't be acting this way if you were setting a better example for him Serena. How many times do I have to tell you that your his big sister and he looks up to you."

"Sing another son already mom, your spinning a broken record for the hundredth time but I wouldn't be worried about the influence I have on Henry because at least he doesn't think that I don't love him. If you hadn't noticed Henry is lonely and he is having a hard time without you tossing him over to Archie to deal with, making him even more convinced that you don't care about him. Maybe if you talked to him once in a while, instead of talking at him like you do with both of us then things might not be this way. You might learn something about your children and you might understand why Henry is reading that book of fairytales from cover to cover!" Serena stated as sure maybe Henry was picking up some of her bad habits like talking back, but Serena knew she wasn't responsible for what was going on with Henry.

"You don't think there is a problem with your little brother filling his head with that nonsense. Fairy tales aren't real–" Regina began and Serena sighed in exasperation.

"What is so wrong with believing in something? Having hope that there is something better out there? Something magical? He's 10 years old for Pete's sake, there is wrong with what Henry is doing. It's not nonsense if Henry is reading it and he certainly isn't crazy for reading fairy tales. Right now Henry need hope, he needs to know that things can get better. He needs to know that it's okay to dream!" Serena retorted and in an instant second the atmosphere in the room changed and things went deadly silent and Serena noted that her mother was recoiled, like she had been struck in the face.

"What did you say Serena?" Regina hoarsely asked after a moment, almost so quiet that a pin could have dropped and you would have heard it because it was so quiet. But Serena had heard her mother.

"I said that it is okay to dream!" Serena replied, watching as her mother's face suddenly want pale but she had no clue why her mother was getting worked up over the fact that she had said it was okay to dream. Serena didn't have a potty mouth but she had certainly said some worst things in her life than it's okay to dream. Serena had no idea what her mom was getting worked up about.

"Go to your room Serena." Regina firmly instructed seemingly recovering herself and Serena couldn't believe that this was happening, she was being sent to her because of what she had just said. It wasn't because she had been talking back and showing her mom a lack of respect but because she had said that it was okay to dream. Serena couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief as she turned to make her way out of the office. But something stopped her, she had one last thing to say so she turned back around to face her mother who still looked a tiny bit rattled.

"You know, maybe instead of shipping Henry and I off to therapy maybe you should be the one getting your head examined mom!"


End file.
